Jenkins on injury: Think of the long term, not the short term

Chris Jenkins (15-0, 7KO) has spoke to BoxingWales.com to reveal the extent of the injury that has forced him to withdraw from Friday’s ‘Repeat Or Revenge’ show. The light-welterweight has torn the tricep on his left arm while sparring and despite thorough attempts to recover, Jenkins couldn’t heal in time to face Gyula Vajda (16-6, 11KO) on the Sanigar Events show at the Merthyr Leisure Centre.Although there isn’t a definite date when he can return to full training, the recovery process is underway. Jenkins said, “You hear of football and rugby players with torn hamstrings and they’re out of the game for six to eight weeks, y’know? I haven’t punched for almost two weeks now and it’s still not better. “It’s usually six weeks with intense physio, that’s what I’m doing every day now. My physio is using an electronic machine to get the muscles repairing quicker than what they are and it’s also taped up to held the blood flow through it.” The 25-year-old, who holds the WBC International title, first felt a niggle while sparring eight rounds with former British champion Gary Buckland ahead of his crunch Commonwealth title clash with Richard Commey. However, the injury was past the point of ignoring it after three rounds of sparring fellow prospect Tony Dixon a few days later. Jenkins threw a jab and felt a ‘pop’ but soldiered on for another three rounds. After strong advice from promoter and manager Paul Boyce and trainers Ronnie Morris and Jimmy Bloomfield, Jenkins reluctantly accepted that he must withdraw from his fight. Recalling the moments of realisation, Jenkins said, “I got home and I was having pains in my arm, by the morning it was twice the size of what it is usually. It was all inflamed, so I went to have physio and she told me it’s torn but we’ll work on it. I didn’t punch for almost 10 days, I tried to do a bit of pads last night (Sunday) and it was just not there, at all. “I had to pull out, it was a team decision. On Sunday, I tried to put a glove on but it was even hurting holding my arms up as a defence, I wasn’t even extending it then. You can’t fight one handed. It was upsetting, I had a little bit of a tear after all the hard work I’ve done but I know my team are thinking about the long term, rather than the short term.” Despite the severity of the muscle retraction, Jenkins still had plans to fight and trained for ten days with the injury, doing everything he could – obviously, apart from punching! He said, “I’m a fighter. Even though I was going to the gym and throwing no punches, I was doing ten rounds in the ring, moving with the ropes up and in the back of my mind I was telling myself that it’ll get better. I said, ‘all this nine weeks I’ve worked hard for, this ain’t gunna let me down’. “In the end though, it’s about my safety and the future of my career. I’m on the edge of a British title shot, so what’s the point of risking it? If I miss him with my first jab, even though I can barely throw one, the muscle might completely come off and I’ll be out for six months.” Purse bids for Jenkins’ proposed British title eliminator against Liverpool’s Tom Stalker (8-0, 2KO), former Team GB Olympic captain, are due to be submitted tomorrow and Jenkins doesn’t expect his injury to pose any risk to the fight. He said, “That fight has to be fought in October, so I’ll get training as soon as possible and I’ve still got all of August and September to get ready. I’ll keep my running and cycling going, I’ll take it slowly, it’s about recovering rather than making it worse,” he said, before concluding with a hint of humour, “it won’t affect the fight because Tom Stalker is a southpaw, I only need my right hand and he’s open to it!”

£30 and £50 tickets for ‘Repeat Or Revenge’ on July 11th at the Merthyr Leisure Centre are available from Sanigar Events and Bristol Boxing Club on 01179496699. For more information, visit: www.westcountryboxing.com. It will be headlined by Dai Davies (10-23-2, 1KO) and Robbie Turley’s (13-4, 3KO) Welsh featherweight title rematch.